Smart Growth: From Principles to Action

Walkable neighborhoods are a key ingredient to Smart Growth.

By: Cristin Popelier 

 

Health, schools, taxes, traffic, environment, economic growth, fairness, opportunity...

 

In communities across our region, the state, and the Nation, planning officials have begun applying the 10 interrelated tenants of Smart Growth, to reduce the problems of suburban sprawl and urban decay. The tenants are helping to guide community choices toward more efficient and sustainable development while preserving critical cultural and natural resources. From farmland preservation on Old Mission Peninsula to downtown revitalization in Empire, our region is gathering experience in making development choices that make our communities healthier and more desirable places to live. This article uses examples from the Grand Traverse Region to illustrate the 10 tenants of Smart Growth.

A potential ADU in Traverse City.

Create a Range of Housing Opportunities and Choices

People of all ages and income levels need access to quality housing choices. Housing is one of the most critical ways in which a community grows. Where a person chooses to live determines their transportation options, access to education and public services, and consumption of energy and natural resources. The construction and use of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's), sometimes referred to as "granny flats", can help provide more affordable housing opportunities without adding infrastructure. However, ADU's have not been welcomed in many GT Region communities. Jack Kelly, Kalkaska County Zoning Administrator says, detached ADU's are acceptable, but must first receive a special use permit under the county zoning ordinance. According to Megan Olds, author of ADUs: An Affordable Housing Option for Traverse City?, ADU's can be a good way to increase alternative housing choices and enhance the affordability of homes in existing downtown neighborhoods.

 

Create Walkable Neighborhoods

‘Walkable neighborhoods' are residential neighborhoods located near the places where people work, play, and shop. They can support expanded transportation options for pedestrians, cyclists, and roller-blade. They also provide many benefits like safe and inviting streets, greater social interaction and lower transportation costs. In this region, the TART trails provide options for many commuters to integrate walking or bicycling into their daily routines. Laura Otwell, in The Joy of the Winter Ride, says that the Trail provides connections from her ‘walkable' neighborhood to the places where she works and shops.

Informed stakeholders can support the development of Smart Growth activities.

Encourage Community and Stakeholder Collaboration

The people, who live in them, define communities. Citizen participation in planning efforts, that encourage collaboration, create staying power and innovation, should be encouraged according to Josh Mills, the Superintendent of the City of Frankfort. Smart Growth advocates point out that engaged and informed participants can support stable and vibrant communities. The City of Frankfort recently received a grant to enhance stakeholder collaboration in their Master Plan Revision. In his interview in this issue, Mills says that the City will do its best to incorporate stakeholder input and citizen participation to assure the continued development of a vibrant and quaint downtown area.

 

Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place

Sense of Place, a unique identity, attractive streetscapes, and distinctive boulevards are important to residents and tourists, alike. Continuity in form and function is necessary for development that fosters livable and desirable communities. One example of a distinctive and attractive streetscape extension is in the Village of Empire. The "New Neighborhood" development extends the city's street and sidewalk grid across M-72 and offers affordable lots and housing options for many market segments, which is near town, shops, and The Sleeping Bear Dunes.

 

Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

Smart Growth advocates say that local land use planning and regulation should be clear, concise, and easy to follow, while encouraging cost effective development strategies. The Village of Suttons Bay has adopted a Form Based Coding approach to zoning. This zoning ordinance emphasized the form or design of structures while placing less emphasis on the particular uses of the development. In her article, And the Latest Buzz in Planning Is: Form Based Coding, Kathy Finch says that the Village's ordinance increases the creative use of properties because it is easier to use and interpret and incorporates graphics and simplified legal phrasing.

 

The Village incorporates many Smart Growth princples, such as mixed uses.

Mix land uses

Vibrant communities offer ample open space, recreational, residential, business, and institutional opportunities. A mix of land uses serves the needs of households by keeping the places we work, shop, and play within walking distance. Locally, The Village at the Grand Traverse Commons is being developed with this principle in mind by adapting and reusing an existing ‘institutional' structure. Already, condominiums, restaurants, a Yoga Studio, a coffee shop, and a winery, are all nestled near a hospital and ample recreation opportunities, are the prime components of the Village's innovative mixed used redevelopment. In his featured article, Raymond Minervini II, said that the Minervini Group is working to counter the Regions ‘sprawling' development patterns by including many every day uses in The Village neighborhood.

 

Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty, and Critical Environmental Areas

Agri-business is the second largest industry in Michigan. Northern Michigan is home to unparalleled fruit farms, beautiful rolling hillsides, gorgeous views, and ample open space. The protection of these critical natural assets is essential to the local economy. Peninsula Township's Farmland Purchase of Development Rights program is a fine example of citizen and local governments collaborating to preserve farmland and scenic viewsheds. Gordon Hayward, the planner for Peninsula Township, (in two previous YourPlace pieces) explained that a policy committee determined that the Township should work to preserve critical scenic views and unique farmland. Two voter approved property tax measures since, have helped to create an attractive enjoyable community with a sense of permanency.

 

Provide a Variety of Transportation Choices

Smart Growth advocates tell us that communities with networks of alternative transportation options are cleaner, more energy efficient, and more desirable places to live. By offering a variety of transportation options, such as bus, car, bike, and pedestrian friendly streets, cities can offer residents and tourists options for getting to their destination. Local mass transit, provided by the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA), can shuttle commuters around Traverse City and across the region to the places like the Villages of Northport and Empire. The benefits of BATA include energy conservation, air pollution reduction, enhanced economic vitality, reduce congestion on roadways, and increased mobility for the elderly.

 

Harbour View is a office and residental complex on Grand Traverse Bay.

Strengthen and Direct Development Towards Existing Communities

Too often, new urban development happens at the edge of a community, further drawing business away from the urban core. Many communities are beginning to recognize that low density growth away from urban centers create huge infrastructure costs, traffic problems, pollution and other adverse impacts. By directing development to existing sites, already served by municipal sewer, water, roads, and schools, a community can maintain the value of the investments already made in those areas. Traverse City Planners suggest that the 35,000 square foot mixed-use residential and office Brownfield redevelopment on the Grandview Parkway in Traverse City, called the Harbour View Center, is one example of directed development in the Region.

 

Take Advantage of Compact Building Design

The desire for higher-density housing options is growing. Compact residential settings such as condominiums, lofts, and town homes, are growing in popularity because they are often more affordable and located in desirable downtown neighborhoods. However, increasing density, while maintaining community character can be very difficult without careful attention to design. In Traverse City, The Midtown neighborhood is cited as a good example of an attractive compact downtown Condominium development that is already served by existing city infrastructure and within walking distance of downtown attractions.

 

The Grand Traverse Region is home to many shining examples of Smart Growth strategies in action. As our community grows and develops in the future, local officials should be encouraged to incorporate some of the strategies outlines here into their land use regulations. Would you like to get involved in community planning? Logon to your municipal government site and see what opportunities await: You may find your municipal government site in the government section of the YourPlace website.

 

If we missed a Smart Growth project in your area, by all means, add it below.

 

Cristin Popelier is an agricultural economist and an avid gardener.